2.2 Fashion Overview
In this research, the researcher proposed and more focused for fashion and apparel industry as one of the retail business. According to Ander and Stem 2004;
Stanley 2006 has defined fashion is commonly associated with apparel and clothing, however, it is important to note that there is an element of fashion in every
facet of modern life and it can be found in even the most unexpected places such as kitchen utensils, gardening, food, furniture and clothing.
In this research that tried to understand what the consumers desire for their fashion styling and also for their fashion trends, Cho and Lee 2005 discovered that
fashion was a general indicator of prevailing market trends that may have been influenced by social, cultural or economic factors. Moreover, Cho and Lee 2005
also stated that fashion trends could be considered to be an indicator of consumers’ current point of view or emotional state, meaning that consumers were responsible
for setting the trends while it was up to the industry to attempt to follow them.
For the purpose of this study, the scope will be limited to fashion as it applies to apparel retail within the Malacca. According to the authors, Christopher, Lowson,
Peck 2004; Hayes Jones 2006, they were defined that the fashion as apparel and accessories that incorporate an element of style or trend that is likely to be short
lived.
On the other hand, Fisher 1997 has said when one considers fashion in term of apparel or clothing, it is necessary to make a distinction between functional and
inventive products. Functional products are characterized by stable predictable demand coupled with long life cycles, while inventive products have unpredictable
demand and short life cycles.
Despite clothing can be regarded as a functional product, fashion clothing, being heavily influenced by elements of style and trends is broadly considered to be
an inventive product. Based on the Ander and Stern 2004; Christopher, Lowson, and Peck 2004 statement, fashion retailers must thus continuously predict what
consumers will want in the future since being able to spot trends and translate them into products in the shop at the shortest possible time has become a perquisite for
success in the fashion retail sector.
Furthermore, fashion can be used to reveal different symbolic meanings in different social setting Finkelstein, 1998; Thompson and Hirschman, 1994;
Thomopson and Haytko, 1997; Sirgy, 1984 as well as Easey 2009 determined that identities and social roles appear through people’s choice of clothing and accessories.
Likewise, Craik 2009 stated that clothes function as symbols that indicate status, gender, social group allegiance and personality. Fashion can now more than ever
become an important and meaningful activity in a clothing interested person’s life Pentecost and Andrews, 2009.
2.3 The Nature of Fashion Retail
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